James A. Senn’s
Information Technology, 3rd Edition
Chapter 1
Information Technology:
Principles, Practices, and
Opportunities
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
1
Objectives
• Describe the six characteristics of the
Information Age and discuss the role of
information technology as the principal tool of
the Information Age.
• Explain the three primary components of
information technology.
• Identify the six information-handling functions
and the four benefits of information technology.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Objectives
• Summarize the principles of business
reengineering, while emphasizing the potential
benefits to people and business.
• Discuss the types of opportunities that
information technology offers to people.
• Describe the responsibilities of people who use
information technology.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Evolution of the Information Age
• Agricultural Age: The period up to the 1800s,
when the majority of workers were farmers whose
lives revolved around agriculture.
• Industrial Age: The period from the 1800s to 1957,
when work processes were simplified through
mechanization and automation.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Evolution of the Information Age
(Continued)
• Information Age: The period that began in 1957, in
which the majority of workers are involved in the
creation, distribution, and application of
information.
– Knowledge Workers: Workers involved in the
creation, distribution, and application of
information.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Evolution of the Information Age
(Continued)
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Characteristics of the Information Age
(Continued)
• An information-based society has arisen.
– Information Society: A society in which more
people work at handling information than at
agriculture and manufacturing combined.
• Businesses depend on information technology to
get their work done.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Characteristics of the Information Age
(Continued)
• Work processes are being transformed to
increase productivity.
– Work Processes: The combination of activities
that workers perform, the way they perform
those activities, and the tools they use.
– Productivity: The relationship between the
results of an activity (output) and the
resources used to create those results
(inputs).
– Effectiveness: The extent to which desirable
results are achieved.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Characteristics of the Information Age
(Continued)
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Characteristics of the Information Age
(Continued)
• Information technology provides the means to
rethink/recreate/reengineer conventional business
processes.
– Reengineering: The reshaping of business processes to
remove barriers that prohibit an organization from
providing better products and services and to help the
organization capitalize on its strengths.
– Business Processes: Collections of activities, often
spanning several departments, that take one or more
kinds of input and create a result that is of value to a
company’s customers.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Characteristics of the Information Age
(Continued)
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Characteristics of the Information Age
• Success in business is largely determined by the
effectiveness with which information technology
is used.
• Information technology is embedded in many
products and services.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Characteristics of the Information Age
(Continued)
• Reengineering efforts to attain greater
productivity:
– Industrial Age - Division of Labor: Separation
of work process into component task, with
different workers specializing in each of the
tasks.
– Information Age – Teamwork, Interconnection,
and Shared Information.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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Welcome to the Information Age
The Characteristics of the Information Age
(Continued)
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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What is Information Technology?
Definition
• A term used to refer to a wide variety of items
and abilities used in the creation, storage, and
dispersal of data and information. Its three
main components are computers,
communications networks, and know-how.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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What is Information Technology?
Definition (Continued)
• Data: Raw facts, figures, and details.
• Information: An organized, meaningful, and
useful interpretation of data.
• Knowledge: An awareness and understanding of
a set of information and how that information can
be put to the best use.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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What is Information Technology?
Definition (Continued)
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© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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What is Information Technology?
Computers
• An electronic system that can be instructed to
accept, process, store, and present data and
information.
• Computers come in four sizes:
– Microcomputers
– Midrange computers
– Mainframes
– Supercomputers
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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What is Information Technology?
Computers (Continued)
• Microcomputers: A relatively compact type of computer, the
most common of all, easily outsells all other types of
computers annually for use in business and at home.
• Five types of Microcomputers:
– Desktop Computers
– Notebook Computers/Laptop Computers
– Tablet PCs
– Personal Digital Assistants
– Palm PCs
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© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
19
What is Information Technology?
Computers (Continued)
• Midrange computers and Mainframes: A
computer uses to interconnect people and large
sets of information. More powerful than a
microcomputer, the minicomputer is usually
dedicated to performing specific functions.
• Supercomputers: The most powerful of all
computers, supercomputers were designed to
solve problems consisting of long and difficult
calculations.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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What is Information Technology?
Computers (Continued)
• Hardware: The computer and its associated
equipment.
• Program: A set of instructions that directs a
computer to perform certain tasks and produce
certain results.
• Software: The general term for a set of
instructions that controls a computer or a
communications network.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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What is Information Technology?
Computers (Continued)
• System: A set of components that interact to
accomplish a purpose.
• Information System: A business information
system designed to produce the information
needed for successful management of a
structured problem, process, department, or
business.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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What is Information Technology?
Computers (Computers)
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© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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What is Information Technology?
Communications Networks
• Communication: The sending and receiving of data and
information over a communications network.
• Communications Network: A set of locations, or nodes,
consisting of hardware, programs, and information linked
together as a system that transmits and receives data and
information.
• Data Communication: The transmission of data and
information through a communications medium.
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© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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What is Information Technology?
Know-How
• The capability to do something well.
• Information technology know-how consists of:
– Familiarity with the tools of IT; including the
Internet
– Possession of the skills needed to use these
tools
– An understanding of when to use IT to solve a
problem or create an opportunity
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© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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The Principles of Information Technology
The Functions of Information Technology
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© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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The Principles of Information Technology
The Functions of Information Technology
(Continued)
• Capture: The process of compiling detailed records of
activities.
• Processing: The process of converting, analyzing,
computing, and synthesizing all forms of data or
information.
– Data Processing
– Information Processing
– Word Processing
– Image Processing
– Voice Processing
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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The Principles of Information Technology
The Functions of Information Technology
(Continued)
• Generation: The process of organizing
information into a useful form, whether as
numbers, text, sound, or visual image.
• Storage and Retrieval: Storage is the computer
process of retaining information for future use.
Retrieval is the process by which a computer
locates and copies stored data or information for
further processing or for transmission to another
user.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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The Principles of Information Technology
The Functions of Information Technology
(Continued)
• Transmission: The computer process of
distributing information over a communications
network.
– Electronic Mail, or E-Mail
– Voice Messaging, or Voice Mail
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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The Principles of Information Technology
The Benefits of Information Technology
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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The Principles of Information Technology
The Opportunities of Information Technology
• Helping People
• Solving Problems
– Problem: A perceived difference between an
existing condition and a desired condition.
– Problem Solving: The process of recognizing a
problem, identifying alternatives for solving it,
and successfully implementing the chosen
solution.
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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The Principles of Information Technology
Information Technology Is All Around Us,
Improving Our Lives
• Television
• Education
• Training
• Entertainment
• Shipping
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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The Principles of Information Technology
Information Technology Is All Around Us,
Improving Our Lives (Continued)
• Paperwork
• Money and Investments
• Agriculture
• Taxation and Accounting
• Health and Medicine
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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The Principles of Information Technology
Information Technology Is All Around Us,
Improving Our Lives (Continued)
• Manufacturing
• Journalism
• Energy
• Sports
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
34
The Principles of Information Technology
The Responsibilities of Using Information
Technology
• To be Informed
• To Make Proper Use of IT
• To Safeguard
Senn, Information Technology, 3rd Edition
© 2004 Pearson Prentice Hall
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